Monday, February 9, 2026

Gold In Motion

 Several years back, little gold bugs invaded our hollyhocks. And I mean GOLD, I had never seen bugs like it. Just recently, I have found what they are. Golden Tortoise Beetles. 


It's metallic sheen looks like polished gold. But when disturbed, they turn red.



They are encased by a thin clear covering, like a soap bubble.



As beautiful as they are, their larvae are frighteningly ugly.


I feel lucky to have seen them, and even luckier that it was not in their larvae form.


“The golden tortoise beetle: nature’s tiniest knight in shimmering armor.”


* All photos are from the web


14 comments:

Ann said...

Well isn't that fascinating. I didn't think it was real until I started reading. I've never seen anything like that. You're right, the larvae are ugly

R's Rue said...

So beautiful. It’s so interesting.
rsrue.blogspot.com

Shug said...

I've never seen one and haven't even heard of these cute gold bugs. Very interesting.... I read about them after reading your post and they can even change colors to a orange with dots when they feel danger. Wow...

Mari said...

I've never seen anything like that! I didn't think it was real until I read your post. So interesting.

Chatty Crone said...

It looks like a gold ladybug. I have never ever . . . They are so unusual. I love them. Very interesting.

Martha Jane Orlando said...

I've never seen one or even heard about them until now, Ginny. They are certainly odd, unique creatures. God has such an infinite imagination!

☘️ Debby said...

That is fascinating. Wow. That larvae image at first glance looked like a squirrel.

photowannabe said...

Oh my ... how strange and interesting.
This is something brand new to me. I agree that the larvae are so ugly. Fascinating.
Sue

CheerfulMonk said...

They’re amazing! 😊❤️

Linda's Relaxing Lair said...

How fascinating, Ginny! And yes, how gorgeous! Gold...indeed! I have never seen any insect like this in my 69 years!
The fact that they turn red when disturbed is amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing, I found this post to be very enjoyable (as I do all your posts, and educational, too!)

roentare said...

It looks like it is made of gold!

Red Rose Alley said...

That is the most unusual insect, Ginny. I've never seen the golden beetle before. And so strange that a thin clear bubble covers them. These photos are truly something else. I learned something today on your post, Ginny. I would have loved to seen so many of them crawling all over your hollyhocks. : )

HappyK said...

Wow how interesting. I've never heard of these little gold beetles before.

DeniseinVA said...

Amazing little creature I have never seen one before. Thanks for the share Ginny!

Two Birthdays

 Last week, we had two birthdays on the same day! Our granddaughter Jazz and her mom. Jazz loves building things and wants to be an architec...